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Monday, May 22, 2017

Healthy Habits: 4 Tips To Sleep Better During Allergy Season

Spring
is the season of renewal. Plants and trees start to rebound from the harsh
winter that claimed most of their leaves and vegetation. Birds return
from their Southern vacations, serenade us with their morning songs and
rebuild their nests in preparation for new arrivals.
Unfortunately, there is another renewal
that many people don’t look forward to in the spring: the
return of hay fever season along with symptoms such as sneezing
and sniffling that can give you sleepless nights.
In an allergy survey conducted by HayMax (www.haymax.us),
92
percent of respondents said their hay fever symptoms affect their work,
school or daily routine, which includes sleep patterns.
“The trick to
sleeping well when you suffer from hay fever is to reduce
the amount of pollen getting into your body at night,” says
Max Wiseberg, creator of HayMax Allergen Barrier Balm.
People can tolerate a certain amount of pollen without reaction, he says,
but once this amount is exceeded – called the trigger level – hay fever
symptoms start to occur. Stay below this level at night, you
won’t get the symptoms and your sleep won’t be affected. Go
above it and that’s when the trouble starts.
Wiseberg
offers a few tips on how to avoid reaching that trigger
level, allowing you to rest easy at night.

Keep bedding and fabrics clean.
Vacuum the house regularly, especially
beds and fabrics, such as bed covers and curtains, to remove pollen, dust and
pet allergen particles. Wash bedding regularly to remove allergens and dry
them indoors rather than on a clothes line to prevent pollen
particles being blown onto them by the wind.

Keep the house closed from the outside
world.
Close windows and use an air conditioner, preferably with a HEPA
(High Efficiency Particle Arresting) filter to capture pollen and dust particles,
as well as cool and circulate the air.

Have a nightly routine before bed.Shower at night before sleeping to
remove pollen particles and pet hair from your hair and body. Clear the
nasal passages with water, or use a saline nasal spray, to clear pollen from
the nose. Finally, apply an allergen barrier balm to the nostrils
and around the bones of the eyes to trap pollen, dust
and pet allergens before they enter the body.

Ensure that pets are well groomed.
If you own a pet, shampoo
it as much as possible to remove pet allergens and pollen
particles, or ban it from the bedroom completely.

“Loss
of sleep because of hay fever is very significant, as it can impact how
a person functions the next day at school or at work,”
Wiseberg says. “The effect of sleep deprivation on productivity and health
loses costs companies billions of dollars each year.”

About Max
Wiseberg

Max Wiseberg is the creator of HayMax™ (www.haymax.us), a natural, organic balm that
traps allergens when applied to the nostrils. As a lifelong hay fever sufferer,
he was inspired to develop the balm when other allergy remedies didn’t work for
him. Wiseberg, born and raised in Manchester, UK, regularly writes for
newspapers, magazines and blogs on the subject of allergies and airborne
allergens, and has appeared on TV and radio.